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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of His/Her Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, who are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party or parties, and ultimately to the electorate. The office of the prime minister is the highest elected political office in the modern United Kingdom. The office was not "created" or "established", but rather has evolved into existence over a period of three centuries, with various unwritten rules, customs, and laws hardening into the current office. This article lists the known prime ministers found in the works of Harry Turtledove after the Point of Divergence in alternate history, or known prime ministers found in works of science fiction. Prime ministers who served before the POD of a given alternate history who are mentioned in passing do not need to be listed here. Stories set in OTL may reference past prime ministers, or even the sitting prime minister, but unless the individual's role in the story is specifically fictionalized, they do not belong here. ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'' With Germany emerging victorious from the Second World War, the United Kingdom was annexed to the [[Greater German Reich (In the Presence of Mine Enemies)|Greater German Reich]], and the British Union of Fascists became the country's only legal party. In 2010, the BUF launched a push for reform within its borders that saw the selection of a Prime Minister by popular vote by party members. Notes 1=The tenures of Churchill and Mosley are estimates based on the text. 2=It is not clear whether Mosley used the title of PM when he was head of government. He is included here for convenience. Southern Victory During the War of Secession, Prime Minister Lord Palmerston supported the seceding Confederate States, forging an alliance that would carry on into the next century and two wars. The United Kingdom was on the losing side of the Great War in 1917, and eventually begat a revanchist coalition of the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill and the Silver Shirts led by Oswald Mosley in 1932. This coalition led the country into war against Germany in 1941. While initially successful, the tide turned against the UK starting in 1943. Germany destroyed three major British cities with superbombs in 1944, prompting a non-confidence vote which toppled Churchill. Horace Wilson became the acting PM, and pursued peace with Germany. ''The Two Georges'' Several people are mentioned as serving as PMs in the past, although their terms and their party aren't always identified. * Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, former Prime Minister, was Lord of the Treasury when he appeared in the painting ''The Two Georges''. * William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC, Prime Minister during the 1760s. He helped ease the tensions between Britain and its North American colonies, insuring that the British Empire remained intact. He appears in the painting The Two Georges. * , Frederick North, Lord North, Chancellor of the Exchequer and who succeeded Pitt as Prime Minister. He is in the painting, The Two Georges. * Benjamin Disraeli, namesake of Disraeli, one of the Provinces of the NAU. While he is not specifically stated to have been a PM, he was probably intended by the authors as such. * There is an unnamed incumbent female PM in 1995. A popular readers' consensus identifies her as Margaret Thatcher, but as no details about this character are given, this hypothesis is no longer endorsed by this website. The War That Came Early Neville Chamberlain led Britain through the Second World War during its first phase against Germany (October 1938 to Summer 1940) and then after the "big switch" of mid-1940 which saw Britain align itself with Germany against the Soviet Union. In late 1940, Chamberlain's failing health led him to step down and press for the appointment of his close adviser, Horace Wilson. Wilson's term saw increased scrutiny of the ministry's critics at home and a crackdown on protests. Wilson's increasing authoritarianism finally prompted a military coup in the spring of 1941. The interim government detained Wilson, ended the war with the USSR, and restarted the war with Germany. It also promised elections throughout the remainder of 1941, but reset the date each time. Soon, it was 1943, and the military still held power. In the meantime, along with overseeing a war in North Africa and the reopening of the Western Front in Europe, the government reassigned several key members of the Wilson government to diplomatic positions in distant countries so as to keep them under control. Even after the war in Europe ended in 1944, the military maintained control over the government. Worldwar Only two Prime Ministers are identified in the series: * Winston Churchill, PM throughout the Worldwar quartet under George VI. * Anthony Eden, identified as the PM only in Aftershocks, but was probably the PM in Second Contact and Down to Earth as well. Served under Elizabeth II. Other Prime Ministers Former Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell plays a background role in The Guns of the South and the prologue of The Great War: American Front as the incumbent Foreign Secretary. Whether he returned to the prime ministry in 1865 either timeline, as in OTL, is unknown. In the novel ''Joe Steele'', the office follows the same line of succession as OTL during the period between 1937 and 1946, with Winston Churchill succeeding Neville Chamberlain in 1940, and in turn being succeeded by Clement Attlee in 1945. Attlee is incumbent in 1946, when the novel's scope departs from British affairs. Churchill directly appears in both the novel and the short story, while Chamberlain and Attlee are only referenced in the novel. In addition to the foregoing, Winston Churchill is the incumbent PM throughout "News From the Front". He was PM at the 1943 POD of "Ready for the Fatherland," and is referenced, although all his successors are unnamed. In The Man With the Iron Heart and The Hot War: Armistice, former PM Churchill is still a significant force as leader of the opposition in Parliament, but both novels end before he has had a chance to return to office. In addition to the foregoing, Clement Attlee appears as Prime Minister in The Hot War: Armistice, where his tenure is extended into 1952. Harold Macmillan appears as the incumbent PM in "A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Historical Prime Ministers in Non-PM Roles Several historical Prime Ministers have appeared in the works of Harry Turtledove in a capacity other than as Prime Minister. George Grenville is referenced in ''The Two Georges'' as one of the men portrayed in the famous painting. He is remembered as having failed to gain the Prime Ministry. William Petty-FitzMaurice, 2nd Earl of Shelburne is referenced as Secretary of State in The United States of Atlantis. Whether he later became PM in the Atlantis Series is unknown. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington is referenced in Liberating Atlantis in his OTL role as a general. Whether he became PM in that timeline is unrevealed. William Gladstone is referenced in his OTL position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in The Guns of the South and The Great War: American Front (prologue). Whether he became PM in either timeline is unknown. The War That Came Early series features direct appearances by Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, and Harold Macmillan as MPs. Churchill holds the office of Minister of War when he is killed in May 1940. Neither of the other two have a chance to become PM before the series ends. See Also *Monarch of the United Kingdom, the head of state of the United Kingdom *President of the United States, the office of the head of both state and government of the United States of America. *Governor-General of the North American Union, de facto political leader of the North American Union in ''The Two Georges''. While this office isn't defined very well, it appears to include aspects of both the US President and the UK Prime Minister, and probably functions as the head of government. }} Category:Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Category:Titles Category:In the Presence of Mine Enemies Category:Southern Victory Category:The Two Georges Category:The War That Came Early Category:Worldwar